


I Have To Try

by Lathbora_viran



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Loss of loved ones, Tempest crew run ins, There will be more characters, both canon and OC, other assorted people, sorry no Macen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-13 19:55:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13577838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lathbora_viran/pseuds/Lathbora_viran
Summary: Following the loss of his Macen, Avitus Rix is convinced to take up the role of Pathfinder by the human Sara Ryder, a task he attempts to do alone initially after years of experience working alone as a Spectre until he realizes just how much effort it is going to take to save the Turians. The first order of business is to find all of the missing pods and account for living and dead, as well as to discover new potential planets to build colonies so that they can recover all of the pods from the salvageable Ark Natanus. It'll be a piece of cake... once several new friends force him to accept help at least in his work.





	1. Start Somewhere

“Pathfinder Ryder!”

Keen eyes picked up the minute shift as the human’s legs increased their speed ever so slightly. Oh, she thought she could run from him? At least she had an innate ability to know when she was in trouble, even with her allies.

Avitus felt the instinctive pull of his mandibles tight against his face as the pulse of the hunt entered his blood. The predatory nature of his race ran strong in him which had made him even better as a Spectre. Now he had to balance it with diplomacy instead of outrunning his prey and pinning her to a wall to make her listen. How damnably annoying.

He didn’t repeat himself, Ryder had heard him. Vetra had too, judging by the way she folded her arms and slowed down. The exasperated thrum of her sub-vocals was clear to him even at this distance. So, she was trying to talk Ryder into being smart; that was good to know.

Lengthening his stride, he could hear them over the life in the garden outside the cultural centre. “Sara, Avitus isn’t one you want to alienate since he and the other Pathfinders are currently on your side against Tann.”

Finally, the young human stopped and tilted her head back, pressing both hands to her face with a groan. “I hate when you’re logical.”

Vetra chuckled as she stepped back with a nod to him as he came within a few feet. “Brace yourself. You can tell he used to be a Spectre when he looks like that.” Starting up her Omni-tool, she wandered to the railing where she normally stood and talked to Sid or other contacts.

Patience wearing thin, he barely gave Ryder enough time to face him. The nearly pleading smile grated at his nerves despite how much he liked her. If he wasn’t here to yell at her he would have mentioned that she needed to be more commanding instead of letting herself get bullied. Expression chilly, he stepped close enough that he towered over her, his tone ironically friendly. “Guilty conscience, Ryder? It seemed like you were going to run away from me for a moment there. Aren’t we friends?”

Sara grimaced and leaned against the wall with a sigh, “Haven’t I been scolded enough today? I just wanted a break from being the scapegoat for a few hours, I’m sorry. Tann and Addison have me in a bad mood, I shouldn’t let it spread to you but that… that voice. It’s ingrained now to hide when I hear the ‘Ryder is in trouble’ voice.”

Avitus understood what she meant and sympathised with the exhaustion on her face but he couldn’t let that in yet. He wasn’t here as a friend yet, he needed to handle things first. “It happens when there’s a lot going on and you rush into the middle of it every time.” The faked camaraderie slipped away and he saw her slump slightly at the bite he spoke with now, “Kadara, Ryder. What the hell happened?”

Surprise flickered briefly across her face before a faint confusion replaced it, one hand drifting aimlessly as she tried to piece her thoughts together, “You mean that power shift? Sloane Kelly was a problem. She kept Kadara safe, this is true, but she was hurting our standing with the Angara. Now that the Angara have control of Kadara again it’s one less thing they can use against us. I know it’s replacing one criminal with another but we have bigger problems right now than cleaning up the Port.”

He held up one taloned hand, giving one shake of his head, “You’re right about that, however it wasn’t precisely what I meant. Let me be more specific. You left a Turian in their talons when they had already proven they were willing to beat him half to death just to leave a mocking note on his body while he bled out. In fact, don’t I recall you saying you liked this particular Turian?”

Halfway through his response he saw recognition hit. Sara’s eyes widened and she straightened up from the wall. “This is about Kaetus? I don’t agree with the Charlatan’s methods any more than you do, Avitus, but I wasn’t there when it happened and he made it clear he wanted me dead so opening his cell didn’t seem very intelligent in the moment.”

“You became complicit in all the abuse they’ve heaped on him the instant you left him there.” A talon suddenly pressed to Ryder’s chest and she paled as he leaned in close, backing her up against the wall again. “He is Turian, not human. You are not Turian. That means he is my responsibility. Your feelings on the situation are void, you have no authority over him and what happens to him. I’ve lost enough Turians, I will not allow even one more to die when I can intervene.” Straightening, he breathed in sharply and let it out more slowly but his dark eyes never left hers. “I will determine his punishment for his mistakes. You will go back to Kadara and bring him to the Nexus where he will be remanded into my custody. Hierarchy custody. Not Tann’s. Mine. Are we understanding each other now?”

He felt a twinge of guilt at the floored expression on her face but it eased when she gave him a weak smile with a hard swallow. “You’re right, Avitus. I’m sorry, I didn’t think about how important it would be to maintain Turian numbers as much as possible. I also shouldn’t have left him without consulting you. I guess since Tann’s been leaning on me so heavily I let myself get a bit out of control. We’re heading back to Kadara anyway, I’ll bring him back.” She hesitated and then rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, “If he’s resistant…?”

Avitus shrugged and leaned back into a slightly more relaxed position, “Sedate him. Lexi T’Perro should have something safe for Turians. He probably won’t be willing since it’s the Nexus. If I had the Ark I would have him taken there since that’s a bit more separate from the Initiative, but I’ll have to work with what I have and make him understand I’m operating outside of Tann’s jurisdiction. I need to save my people, that means they come first, not the Initiative.”

The response was a slow nod and a sigh of her own as she rubbed at her jaw for a moment. Silence fell between them before a more teasing smile flashed across her face, “Are we back to Avitus and Sara?”

With a low chuckle, Avitus stepped back once at that and rested his weight on his elbow along the railing around the garden. “I can turn off the Pathfinder persona now. You look awful, I apologise for adding to it but it had to be done. You get rather…” A low hum escaped his sub-vocals in thought that had her tilting her head curiously. “You exist in the moment, Ryder. I needed to remind you that things have consequences in a way that you wouldn’t forget any time soon.”

Sara had the grace to flush slightly with a sheepish roll of her eyes, “I know. I think I’m going to be the death of Lexi for the same reason. If I biotic charge one more Fiend she’ll try to remove my ability to use it.”

Now _that_ was an image. Mandibles flared in a clear grin as he glanced her up and down. She didn’t even come up to his shoulder, with a softly rounded face and eyes glittering with her cheerful demeanour. “Why am I not surprised? Half the time I could swear you think you’re Krogan. Don’t die out there, Ryder.”

That brought out her shining confidence again as laughter seemed to make her glow, “Oh, how many times have I died now, Avitus? I won’t stay down. Especially not now that I’ve been making friends with the Angara. I think the Moshae was joking when she asked if I wanted to be her student but I would kill for the chance! I’m going to have to see if she’ll consider it. And the Heskaarl offered me a position! I think even Evfra is starting to warm up to me.”

“Spirits save us all. I suppose your… special friendship with Jaal Ama Darav has no standing impact on your desire to stick around?” The sly smirk was normally hard for humans to pick up on but she narrowed her eyes at him with an even brighter blush than the previous one. He held his hands up peaceably though he couldn’t stop the grin. “Hey, I can’t blame you with that voice. He moves slowly too, takes his time with everything I imagine.”

A shriek left her as she clapped her hands over her face and spun away from him. Her embarrassed laughter reassured him that they were okay despite their quarrel. “Avitus! So, is this going to be a thing now? We meet up in the Vortex and talk about cute guys?” Her eyes were watering slightly as she peeked between her fingers at him.

He managed a nonchalant shrug as he tried to ignore just how damn charming Sara Ryder could be. It was no wonder she had won the Angara over. “I wouldn’t be averse. They tell me avoidance is a bad coping mechanism but it has been serving me faithfully the last few weeks. What better way to avoid thinking than getting drunk and watching pretty people?”

Avitus turned slightly to glance toward Vetra, trying to decide if she was as focused on her Omni-tool as she seemed or if she was debating if intervention was necessary rather than watch the sympathy bloom on Sara’s guileless face when her hands fell. “Alright, if it helps. I’m always down for drinking and people watching. We’ll plan something soon, we could even invite Sarissa and Lumont if you want. Pathfinder party! After I get back from Kadara and picking up Kaetus.”

Looking back at her, he saw her extend a hand and smile at him. He huffed a faint laugh and shook it, “I look forward to it. I’ll run the idea by the others while you’re gone. Thank you, Ryder, for agreeing to this and seeing my side.”

Sara shook her head and waved to Vetra, “No need. I just hope you know what you’re getting into with him. He’s got a lot of anger.”

Leagues of distance entered his gaze as his eyes dropped down and away again, “What makes you think I don’t? I understand losing someone you relied on and what that does to you. Maybe I’m the right person to get through it to him and help him pull himself together. I have to try.” 

 “I’ve said those same four words so many times in the last few months that I think they’re tattooed behind my eyelids. I have nightmares where it’s just blackness with ‘I have to try’ blinking across it.” She wrinkled her nose and ruffled her hair up as Vetra sidled over with curiosity clear in her stance, “I should go and get ready, talk to Lexi so she’s prepped. I’ll see you when we get back, Avitus.”

 Now, all that was left was to wait. Years of stakeouts had trained the patience into him, so he decided to get back to work. It would be a week or more before the Tempest returned and he had no doubts that Ryder would return with Kaetus provided the Charlatan hadn’t executed him by the time she got there. The Charlatan… following that line of thought, he turned on his heel to return to his apartment and begin a search for any information on the criminal’s identity. He had more than a few choice words for the being.

Avitus shielded his eyes with one hand when his Omni-tool suddenly lit up in the dark room. Muttering curses, he dimmed the brightness on its screen before blearily staring at it to try and determine why it had… ah. It was four in the Nexus’ hypothetical morning. Spirits.

Fighting back a yawn, he rubbed at the sore plating beneath his eyes before cracking his neck and sitting up a bit straighter. After feelers had been put out, he had spent an inordinate amount of time trying to map out Ark Natanus’ most likely course. Several groups of salvageable pods had already been recovered but they needed to expand their field of exploration. Only a fraction of the thousands missing had been rescued and he had to hope there were others struggling to make it still.

With an irritable thrum of his sub-vocals that shook his chest, he scanned the information on his screen, crunching numbers. With dead, the living, and the rescued from the Ark itself, they were still under sixteen thousand but just barely. He had a feeling Jirayder might have some potential although most planets there and in Faroang where he had been found on Havarl were completely uninhabitable.

H-097 was possible until you considered it was hundreds of degrees below zero.  Semrahet was submerged.  Jirayder only had H-019, survivable despite its heavy atmosphere and cold, just as Faroang only had Havarl. The lack of survivable landing zones was making the concept of finding many of the four thousand missing Turians bleak.

The blasted Ark’s path simply didn’t make sense! He had been found on Havarl but there were the pods on Elaaden as well and the Ark itself had been in the Remav system on the same side as Faroang but not Zaubray. Why would the damaged SAM system take it the long way through three quarters of Heleus? He simply didn’t have the resources to check Heleus’ entirety. That unclear path involved around fifteen different systems.

Would a new perspective help? Nobody would be up right now. Well, Kandros might be getting ready to start his work for the day since the completely insane Turian seemed just as obsessed with his work as Avitus was with his own. Deciding that the walk at least would help, he rose to his feet with a scowl at his computer before walking the empty, cold path to the transit car. The ride to Operations was silent once he hacked the intercom and prevented it from replaying news headlines. Kesh would have it fixed eventually but for now people would be spared the endlessly repetitive flow of bad news.

Apparently, he had the head of security accurately pegged. One mandible flicked weakly in amusement as Kandros narrowed his eyes at his approach. “Before you say anything, no I haven’t slept yet and yes I’m still avoiding the psychologist Tann foisted on me. I’ll sleep later. Now that the scolding is out of the way, can I bounce something off you?”

Tiran shook his head with a sigh, “I swear, stick the title Pathfinder in front of anyone and they lose their common sense. Fine, but sit down so I’m not worrying about you tipping over.”

Avitus grinned at Tiran’s annoyance as he obediently took a seat and leaned back with his arms behind his head. One foot pushed against the floor to make himself swivel back and forth slightly. “Alright, I’ve been going over what we know of the Ark’s path so far. I was hoping to narrow down a potential path to search. However, what we know is that the Ark is confirmed in Faroang, Zaubray, and Remav.”

Leaning back against the wall of his office, a deep hum left the Turian’s sub-vocals. “I can see where the problem is. It did wander a bit more than it should have. You’re expecting it entered Heleus near Faroang though, aren’t you?”

The ex-Spectre sat back suddenly and settled both feet on the ground more firmly as he braced his elbows on his knees. “ _Spirits_ , you’re right. I did sort of have that impression. But if it entered by Zaubray and curved over Faroang to get to Remav that makes so much more sense.”

“This is why a full night’s sleep is helpful, I just want to point that out.” Concern and humour somehow both vibrated at him from Kandros although he just waved a hand at the man’s point as his mind whirled.

“That means… Pytheas, Eriksson, maybe Jirayder but that’s a steep curve.” Brow plates furrowed, Avitus stood to pace in and out of Tiran’s office. We would have found anything already in Zheng He. But Onaon, Sabeng, and Hefena are possible. Maybe even Nalesh.”

Tiran was shaking his head as he moved away from the wall and a hand hesitated in reaching out, “Dammit, Rix, do you have the entire map memorised at this point?”

Ignoring the comment and the worry it implied, he brightened, and his mandibles flared excitedly, “Kandros, that path will be so much easier to search. It’s only seven or eight systems instead of fifteen. It’s still a bit out of my reach though…” One hand rubbed the edge of his cowl with a sigh as the roller coaster of emotions started back down into determined focus again.

“Macen didn’t give you this job to work yourself to death.”

The flinch that caused made Kandros feel a bit guilty, but it succeeded in making the soldier in front of him stop moving. “I’m sorry, that was a low blow, but you need to take care of yourself or you won’t make it to see the last Turian recovered.” Kandros held a hand up and Avitus did his best to relax the suddenly tense muscles making his back ache, “Hear me out. A lot of these places are around Onaon, I’ve been helping set up communications with Aya. Maybe, no promises, but maybe we can talk to Evfra about an exchange. We help them with something and they help us search Onaon, Sabeng, and Hefena.”

Avitus nodded slowly, refocusing back on the task at hand instead of the burning in his chest and throat, “And then we take Pytheas, Eriksson, and Jirayder. Split the workload in half. If you could make good with the Resistance then we stand a chance of finding a decent amount of the missing pods while they’re still alive, I hope.”

“In return, I need you to go get five hours of sleep and eat a full meal then get yourself on an actual schedule. That’s all I’m asking. Otherwise you’re going to burn out the way Ryder’s flirting with doing right now too.” Folding his arms across his chest, the pale-plated Turian tilted his head earnestly with a note in his sub-vocals that wasn’t quite pleading but hinted at it.

A tiny shudder wracked Avitus’ shoulders as he stared out across the slowly awakening Operations centre from the relative cover of Kandros’ office with a soft sigh. It took a few minutes of lights flickering to life as more people arrived at their stations for him to respond, “Alright, I’ll try Kandros.”

The relief was well hidden on Tiran’s face but Avitus could still see it, “Hell, if all else fails, go see Harry in medical. I’m sure he can give you something to sleep without all the… complications.”

His choice of words startled a bitter laugh from Avitus’ chest but he grinned because he knew Kandros needed to know he wasn’t shutting down. “If Harry and his sedatives get involved I’m going to be asleep for a lot longer than five hours.” Making contact for the first time, he reached out to grip Tiran’s shoulder, “Kandros, thank you for talking. This is the breakthrough I’ve needed for a week or more. If the Angara are willing to help that would be even better, but knowing where to look is important.”

Tiran returned his grin with his frame relaxing finally, twisting his arm around to grip the weary Pathfinder’s shoulder in return, “You’re doing good, Avitus. This was sudden for everyone, but you found the Ark and you stepped up. Just, by the Spirits, take care of yourself too.”

With a silent nod to each other, Avitus made his way back to the transit car. Once inside he gripped his head and leaned against the wall. The ache in his brain was making the lights of the car stab like knives in his eyes. The ride seemed so much longer now than it had before, so he distracted himself with inputting the new information he and Kandros had come to into his Omni-tool in case he forgot anything.

Moments later he realised he was back in his apartment but didn’t quite recall walking there. He was halfway out of his armour as well, so he finished that up and shut down his computer. Lights weren’t necessary, not with Turian eyes, so he left everything off and tossed his Omni-tool next to the computer with a yawn he could no longer control. Blinking hard twice, he wrapped his arms around himself and stretched out on the couch with a thick blanket. The bed was out of his field of view and untouched, as he intended it to stay. It was just… too much room.


	2. Buying Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pressure is rising quickly to find somewhere for Natanus refugees and their supplies. The Nexus can't help them anymore and there are precious few other places established, let alone for so many. The clock is also ticking until the wreck is discovered by the Kett, the still sleeping pods cannot remain on the Ark. 
> 
> Avitus tries to buy just a bit more time as he frantically tries to find a place to start, stumbling across the potential beginnings of a team as he does so.

Space was going to be an immediate problem, let alone dextro resources. They didn’t have Ark Natanus to dock with the Nexus the way every other race did. Avitus grimaced as he hurried down to the docking levels for the third time this week to pressure the Nexus staff to allow the injured refugees of the Ark onboard. They had only recovered about fifteen hundred of the pods from the Ark itself but already the Nexus was groaning at the burden they presented.

The Nexus couldn’t sustain them. They had no Ark and no colonies. Sure, some Turians would be welcome at the colonies the human Pathfinder was establishing but it didn’t change the fact that they were established by humans for humans.

Avitus needed to settle a few of his own or it wouldn’t matter how many of his people they rescued.

Pas-10 in the Inalaara system had traces of dextro-based elements in its atmosphere, and the atmospheric pressure and temperature range were ideal. The volcanos across every inch of it were less so. However, if Ryder knew of a vault there that could be activated, it might be worth it to stabilise the activity to eventually settle it.

One foot tapped restlessly as he let his mind race far ahead of the slow transit car.

There wasn’t much research out of the area yet, but some of the Paarchero’s scanners had identified Pas-65 in the Tafeno system as a potential as well. The heat wouldn’t bother Turians as a race, though it was a bit high even for them. Nothing they couldn’t work around. The utter lack of atmosphere was a problem, but the allure of rich mining might make toughing it out worth it. Again, if the planet had a vault, it might balance the heat and regenerate atmosphere.

In the same system, Tentrobiil was also a definite possibility. It maintained decent heat and had an atmosphere, albeit a poisonous one of ethane and methane, even some decent mining although it hardly offered what Pas-65 did. If they could land mechs, they could potentially build mining domes with regulated atmosphere until a potential vault could be activated.

There was also Gesaimo in Nalesh to consider, although now that he was thinking of Tentrobiil it seemed like a good place to at least start looking. See if it was as habitable as it sounded. It was up there at the top of his list along with Pas-48 in Shojoan, which lacked water but that could be traded for with the abundance of copper and, if he was going to be honest, the auroral effects reminded him of Palaven in a way that tugged. Even if they didn’t start there, he was sure they would claim it eventually. He really needed to get a list from Ryder of all the world’s she had discovered had vaults from the display on Aya, or check it himself.

The door hissed open and broke him out of his reverie, suddenly assaulted by the bustling noises of the commerce centred right by the entrance to the transit system. Shading his eyes for a moment against the manufactured daylight, he quickened his steps down toward the Immigration clerks past the Cultural Centre.

“You’re honestly going to deny injured refugees? All we need is a check-up in the med-bay here on the Nexus!” The female Turian’s shoulders flexed like she was considering throwing a punch but the stretcher she was holding one end of checked that reflex. Her sub-vocals were irate enough that it made her companions wince slightly.

Someone behind her spoke up as Avitus rounded the corner to see Kandros and the Immigration Officer trying to corral about a dozen more refugees. “You’re both Turian, please, just help us.” There was a pleading note to these sub-vocals. Kandros met his gaze as he noticed Avitus’ approach with a mix of relief and annoyance.

“We understand, but right now we’re struggling to make room. The other Arks are trying to filter people out to colonies, so we can support more refugees, but we have a limit on resources since we’ve only just established ground contacts.” Kandros held up both hands, a soothing chord leaving him to try and stem the panic.

Shaking his head, Avitus joined the group and gripped the shoulder of a male Turian who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. It gave him a twinge of guilt, however illogical, over the five hours he had gotten last night. “Tiran, are we out of room already?”

Kandros sighed gustily and rubbed the back of his neck, mandibles pulling tight from the stress. “We’re still sending out requests for space. But we’re putting a serious dent in our dextro supplies. We need to start resupplying them somehow or we’ll run out fast.”

“Put them in the Pathfinder’s Headquarters for now. If Tann bucks tell him he can talk to me about it when I get back from Natanus, but they won’t be moved until then. It’s a big room, I’m sure Lumont and Sarissa won’t mind, they might not even be there right now.” The cold tone he used brooked no argument but none of them missed the brief flick of Tiran’s mandible in gratitude before he nodded to the officer next to him.

Someone gripped Avitus in a desperate hug before being led away with the group, the med-bay staff being contacted by Immigration for the injured who would be in Pathfinder HQ. “Alright, Kandros. I’m going to make a run to Natanus and see if I can recover more of those supplies. It should only be a few days for me to get back, this would be a lot easier if it had crashed a bit closer though.”

The pair smiled weakly at each other for an instant before Kandros pulled up his Omni-tool. “Take an APEX team with you. Those damn Kett are everywhere, last thing we need is to lose you too. They’ll meet you by the docking bay. I’ll… deal with Tann. I know you’d let me scapegoat you, but he needs a reality check about dealing with Turians that I’m happy to give him.”

“If we could find a way to store the supplies here then we wouldn’t have to make as many trips.” With a sigh of his own Avitus, turned to head across the pathway to the hangars with a feeling that this long week was on the verge of getting even crazier.

An APEX team was already outfitting their ship by the time he arrived. Their captain, a female Turian he swore by the Spirits he had been introduced to before, began to approach him. “Pathfinder Rix. We’re ready whenever you are. I’m assuming this is just your regular board and grab?”

Vitetoria Digeris. She had changed her name to honour the home she left behind. He offered a salute briefly before joining her in walking back to the ship. “Captain Digeris, thank you for the help.” This close, she was a little intimidating and obviously former military. Spirits, she was even noticeably taller than him. “You’re right. We need some more supplies to get Tann off my back long enough to throw a colony together for our refugees.”

“In that case, when you head out to look for that colony, tell Kandros I’m coming too. You’ll need a decent team and I’ve got one of the best. We’ll make sure you get back alive.” Her expression bordered on smug, but her confidence was completely genuine.

Avitus inclined his head, opening his mouth to respond only to pause and turn at the sound of his name. Ryder waved at him from where she had just docked, and a sinking feeling entered his stomach that probably wasn’t fair to her. “I didn’t expect you back so soon, Pathfinder.”

 Sara shoved her hands into her pockets with a grin as she sauntered on over. If there was one thing he had learned she was flawless at, it was her entrances. They were always theatrical. “I wasn’t going to keep a homicidal Turian with a death wish and unknown amounts of combat training on my ship forever, Avitus. Kaetus is yours now, are you getting ready to go somewhere?”

There was a strange ringing in his head that he normally would associate with shock. It dulled his tone as he responded, “Natanus. For supplies. Spirits, bring him over here we’ll cart him with us. Tann will airlock him before I get back.”

“Oh boy. You’re in for an uncomfortable ride.” She glanced over her shoulder as Jaal and Drack escorted a shackled Turian with pale plates like his own from the Tempest, waving them over. The man did indeed have murder in his eyes that Avitus could see even from this distance. Kaetus was fury incarnate, packed up in a ball of loathing. His presence was colder than Voeld. Avitus groaned faintly as he pressed a hand over his eyes, feeling a headache encroaching already.

Turning back to the Captain, he flicked a brow plate at the contemplative look on her features, “You’re not airlocking him either, Digeris. Let’s… get this moving before _I_ decide to airlock him. We can discuss my plans for the first colony. Your opinion would be valuable considering how much you’ve already travelled Andromeda and the fact that you want to help me settle it.”

With a thrum of amusement, the dark plated Turian turned back to her crew and gestured for them to get the craft up and running as she boarded. Avitus ignored the look Kaetus was giving him. The rebel had clearly recognised him, but he didn’t have the time or patience to amuse him. Instead he nodded to Ryder and her crew, “Thank you for getting him back alive, Pathfinder. You should probably make a run for it before someone tells Tann you smuggled an Kadaran onto the Nexus.”

“Me? I’m already gone, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pathfinder Rix.” With a cheeky wink, Sara turned to leave the hangar bay with Drack and Jaal laughing at some joke in tow behind her.

Taking Kaetus by the shoulder, gripping harder when he tried to tug it away from him, he steered the reticent refugee onto the ship as the door slid shut to lock behind them. Avitus pushed him back against the wall, one hand braced by his head as their brow plates nearly met with an intense stare, “I’m going to take those restraints off and give you a gun. Obviously, that wouldn’t be my first plan of action but if you’re coming with us I don’t want to have to protect your ungrateful ass.”

One pale brow plate lifted slightly, not flinching away from the locked gaze, “Hm. You’ve changed. Expecting enough trouble to arm me?”

Avitus shrugged faintly, “Shoot at us and we kill you. I would prefer not to, or I wouldn’t have gone to so much effort to break you out of Kadara.” With a grimace he pulled Kaetus’ hands farther into the lights on the ceiling, a practised hand hacking the shackles and tossing them aside. “When we reach Natanus don’t go far, you won’t live if you get left behind. There may or may not be Kett, they haven’t found the wreck yet, but it doesn’t mean they won’t stumble across it. We’re getting supplies and nothing else. Am I understood?”

Kaetus’ nearly amber eyes narrowed as he straightened and shoved the Pathfinder back a step, “As long as _you_ understand that I will not be bullied.” He brushed himself off and reached past Avitus to pick up a weapon from the locker next to them. “Is Natanus that bad? We heard rumours but…”

His sub-vocals only admitted the pain the question caused for a moment but the shift of Kaetus’ mandibles made it clear he had noticed. Avitus cleared his throat brusquely, “You’ll see when we arrive. However, the fact that we can’t even tow it to the Nexus should give you some indication of its condition.”

Turning away before he could follow where this conversation might lead, the ex-Spectre left Kaetus where he stood and ventured up towards the cockpit. “Captain, do you happen to know any better routes to Remav that might shave a bit more time off?”

“Perhaps. I’ll have you know that your previous qualifications are the only thing keeping me from locking you both up for arming an exile on my ship.” Vitetoria’s gaze was piercing, her hands braced on the pilot’s headrest, and he was again reminded by years of training that she was not someone to scuffle with. “It’ll still be hours before we reach Natanus, so you and your exile can sit and get comfortable. We’ll keep an eye out for Kett.”

When he turned back around, Kaetus had tilted his head, still watching him. It was making his plates itch, Spirit’s wrath. Couldn’t the cagy Turian find something else more interesting? “I suppose you have questions, this will be the best chance for me to answer them. Once we get back to the Nexus, I’ll be trying to do too much at once.”

Kaetus folded his arms across his chest and casually leaned against the curved wall the hull formed. “Should I have questions? I’m assuming you wanted me alive out of some misplaced sense of responsibility. I could ask what happens to me after we get back to the Nexus.”

So, they were going to play it cool for now, though he doubted the angry male was going to keep a lid on his temper forever. Avitus settled back into a seat with one ankle kicked up on the other knee. He started up his Omni-tool to read through reports with his other hand tucked behind his head, “When we get back to the Nexus, I ignore all of Tann’s blustering and you rejoin the Natanus refugees. I continue trying to establish a colony for the Natanus refugees where I will send you and all of the other Turian refugees, unless you’re suicidal enough to want to return to Kadara.”

“I won’t just sit around uselessly. You got me off of Kadara, you’re stuck with me, Avitus.” The ice in Kaetus’ voice continued into tight sub-vocals that nearly threatened violence despite his laid-back demeanour.

“That will mean dealing with the Nexus a whole lot.” He kept his voice lazy, but no one would miss the warning he hinted at with the hum in his chest. Spirits it felt good to communicate with his own kind. Half of his points were lost on Tann, Addison, Lumont, Ryder, Sarissa, and Kesh. Even if it was this asshole.

“They can get over it. I won’t just sit back and wait for the powers that be to make decisions. That includes you. The exiles tried sitting and waiting. All that got them was hungry.” It took effort for Avitus to resist the laugh that bubbled up with the man’s dire tone. Kaetus still seemed to take himself very seriously. His follow up killed any humour he might have been resisting. “So, you’re Pathfinder? What about Macen?”

That incessant ringing was back so Avitus shook his head and stared hard at his Omni-tool, feeling the grind as his jaw clenched hard. For a moment he was sure he could turn his head and see someone sitting next to him with that amazing grin, but logic whispered it was only one of the APEX team members. He swallowed back a rush of nausea and rose to his feet to… there was nowhere to go to. Instead he paced to a window and counted stars that were blue as he steadied his breathing. The silence behind him was physical.

Three thousand, eight hundred and twenty-nine.

A voice cleared the cobwebs away behind him, a woman’s. Vitetoria; Of course, he knew who it was. Avitus blinked and turned away from the window to look around. In the archway to the cockpit, the Captain braced herself with both hands on the frame around her. “About fifteen minutes until we reach the Ark. Pull it together, Pathfinder. We’ve got a job to do.” When he met her eyes, they were stern, but a faint nod was given as reassurance.

Kaetus busied himself with collecting heat sinks for his gun, neither addressing Avitus nor looking at him. Well, if a complete meltdown was all it took to make the Turian stop staring, at least there was that. He couldn’t tell if it felt worse or better that no one made a remark about their Pathfinder staring out of a window and taking a break from reality for hours.

Shaking off the sudden rush of self-consciousness, he double checked his own weapons and made sure his helmet sealed correctly. “Kaetus, a lot of Natanus is open to space, grab a helmet too. APEX, listen up. None of you have been on Natanus yet, though I’m sure you’ve read the reports. Power levels are holding stable, so we don’t have to worry about the remaining pods. Keep an eye open for any signs of Kett incursion and run some diagnostics to make sure everything is still as solid as it can be. Supplies are scattered around the ship, but the docking bay door can’t open. It’s just plain easier to drop down through one of the bigger holes in the hull. We circle the hull, find one and drop down. Once we have what we can carry, we walk it back outside to our ship. Sound like a plan?”

A few nods responded as people prepared themselves. Most of this crew was Turian but there were two who weren’t. A Quarian and a Salarian. Something about the latter screamed STG to his senses. He’d learned quickly as a Spectre not to doubt those gut instincts. Vitetoria checked her helmet and then nodded as it reopened, “It’s sound enough given the deterioration of the Ark.” By now the entire crew were feeling the slow deceleration as they approached the Natanus.

Kaetus moved toward the window to get a glimpse of the savaged vessel that he had been ejected from. He hid it quickly enough that Avitus was certain he was the only witness as his eyes widened in a flinch.

Ark Natanus stretched out before them as a gargantuan victim. Wires and ducts hung listlessly in the vacuum of space with barely a flicker of life to be seen. As it rolled slowly, more and more tears in its corpse could be seen. Windows were shattered, and everything was dark. The idea that anything had survived was tantamount to a miracle. He knew there would be an instant where Kaetus realised if he hadn’t been thrown to the surface of a planet at random he might not have survived this. Avitus had taken a moment to do the same the first time he had seen it with Ryder.

After that came the reeling blow of how tiny the chance had been to land in a way that wouldn’t destroy the pod on a planet that just happened to be habitable.

If he was going to be honest with himself, the fact that anyone had survived getting ejected from the dying Ark was beyond amazing.

“It looks worse out here than it does inside. Not by much but, it’s something. Maintained some structural integrity.” Avitus began gathering heat sinks rather than watch their approach. He had seen more than enough of the mauled Ark and he wouldn’t be rid of it any time soon.

Kaetus, for his part, seemed able to maintain some humour about the situation. He pushed away from the window with a faint shrug, “Well, I can see why you didn’t get it towed. So many holes in it, anywhere you hooked a line would shred like lace.”

An intercom crackled to life, “Coming in for landing. Target is moving so this might get bumpy.”

Avitus seated himself again with the warning, but decided their pilot was being modest fairly quickly. What had followed was the smoothest landing he’d had on the Natanus since he had begun making repeat journeys to recover life pods and supplies.

The cold of space settled into his bones the instant the doors unsealed once the ship was clamped to Natanus’ exterior, silence surrounding them so thickly that they could hear their breath in their helmets. “Check communications.”

A chorus of replies returned to him as well as a few thumbs up. “Let’s make this fast.”


End file.
